I am one month into the sale of my house in Bradford and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. The reason given is that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only work with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Bradford ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
As someone unfamiliar with conveyancing in Bradford what’s the number one tip you can impart concerning the legal transfer of property in Bradford
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Bradford and elsewhere in West Yorkshire is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of room for friction between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. E.g., the vendor, property agent and sometimes the mortgage company. Choosing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Bradford should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the legal process whose responsibility is to act in your legal interests and to keep you safe.
There is a worrying ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone has to be at fault for the process being so protracted. We recommend that you your first instinct should be to trust your conveyancer above the other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.
I have paid off my mortgage with Skipton. I assume I don't need a Bradford conveyancer on the Skipton panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.
If you have finished paying off your Skipton mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Skipton mortgage from the register. Skipton, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
- but are not moving to another property
- where Skipton has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
- Skipton has instructed the Land Registry to do so
It is unclear whether my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Bradford building society branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My Bradford conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called and was told they will not lend based on their specific requirements. Who do I believe?
Your solicitor must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 provisions for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Bradford. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an on account payment of £225. A couple of days later, the property lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Clydesdale panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I note that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Do I need this when acquiring a house in Bradford? or I am told that there is an ancient law that means some owners of property residing in a parish church boundary will be compelled to contribute towards repairs towards the chancel within the church. Is this a legitimate concern for conveyancing in Bradford?
Unless a prior purchase of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you could take it that conveyancing practitioners handling conveyancing in Bradford to continue to suggest a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Bradford?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Bradford. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How do I use your search app to select a conveyancing lawyer in Bradford on the approved list for my mortgage?
Step one is to select a lender such as Birmingham Midshires, Barnsley Building Society or Bank of Ireland then choose your preferred area a common one being Bradford. Conveyancing practices in Bradford and beyond will then be identified.